The Giants World Series sweep, Halloween endless, worrying about our East Coast brethren. It feels like everyone has ADD right about now, our Twitter feeds overfloweth, and we’re all being stretched in a million different directions. The world may indeed be coming to an end. But AU and Zammuto are coming to SF, as are Woodkid, Dark Dark Dark, and R. Kelly’s bedroom ballads. Already on our soil we have the SF Symphony’s Dia de los Muertos concert, Halloween tricks at Thee Parkside, and even more Nobunny.
So despite all of those other things taking up space in our minds, or perhaps because of them, this much I know: the earth is going to keep on spinning, this week at least. And with each day, comes another concert, live show, musical extravaganza from which you won’t be able to peel your eyes off.
Here are your must-see Bay Area concerts this week/end:
Hallorager at Thee Parkside
There was a pretty sizable chunk of paper last week dedicated to the eye-popping range of spooky/trashy/candy-coated Halloween events out there for you to dig into. Though on this night, I throw my vote to the tribute band. It’s just fun to see local bands dressed as other bands, rocking a catalogue they likely researched on Wikipedia and/or Youtube. That’s why I doff my cat-eared hat to Thee Parkside’s lineup: Glitter Wizard as the Seeds, Twin Steps and the Cramps, Meat Market as G.G. and the Jabbers, and the Parmesans as the Kinks. Plus, some monster mashups via DJ Dahmer, MOM’s spook booth, tarot card readings, and (creepy?) silent film projections.
Wed/31, 8pm, $8
Thee Parkside
1600 17th St., SF
www.theeparkside.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpyyXFmlzJo
Nobunny
Alright, just one more Halloween show – because it’s trash hero Nobunny! And it’s tradition! And that growl sends crowds into frenzies!
With Shannon and the Clams, POW!, Eeries, DJ Al Love
Wed/31, 9pm, $7–$10
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
1710 Mission, SF
www.brickandmortarmusic.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9D9Yl3VDfE
R. Kelly
He’s certainly had his share of creepy indiscretions, and is at this point nearly a parody of himself, but R. Kelly is the undisputed master of weirdly mesmerizing train-wreck storytelling through velvety R&B vocal stylings. How many chapters of “Trapped in the Closet” are there now? (There are 23 chapters of “Trapped in the Closet” now.) Plus, he’s got this new record, Write Me Back, and he’s already working on another, recently telling TIME “I decided to go back and do an old-school R. Kelly album like 12 Play. That’s pretty much what it’s going to be, focusing on more of the bedroom ballads. I like to give people variety and I just gave them two years of romance albums and soul.”
Wed/31-Thu/1, $57-$102
Paramount
2025 Broadway, Oakl.
www.paramounttheatre.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCsvHarRSd4
Woodkid (CANCELLED)
French composer-artist Woodkid (a.k.a Yoann Lemoine) creates sounds that bloom like live-action role-playing background music. Or, video game music using entirely classical orchestration, strings, and Lemoine’s low octave, accented pipes. (You could easily picture Link chasing after Zelda during “Iron.”) Each track builds like a page-turning epic, which make his two EPs feel like brief odysseys. That’s right, he’s yet to release a full-length, but that record — The Golden Age — is coming. Though you might have seen his stylish videos for Agyness Deyn-featuring “Iron” or “Run Boy Run.” Or hell, you may know him from his other life as a music video director: Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” anyone? With Pacific Air.
Fri/2, 9pm, $20
Bimbo’s
1025 Columbus, SF
www.bimbos365club.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmc21V-zBq0
SF Symphony Dia de los Muertos community concert
“Is a skeleton a xylophone or a marimba? You can bet your sweet sugar skull there’ll be an ocean of chromatic bones, dancing akimbo, at the vibrant annual celebration of the afterlife. The family favorite boasts performances from the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra (playing Aaron Copland’s El Salón México and Jose Pablom Moncayo’s Huapango), dance company Los Lupeños de San José, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, and more, all narrated by the twinkling Luis Valdez, “father of Chicano theater.” Face painting, paper flower-making, tons of colorful art, and a pre-show by the Mixcoatl Anahuac Aztec dancers, the 30th Street Chorus, and the Solera singers boost the fun — but really they had us at cinnamon-infused Mexican hot chocolate and pan de muerto.” — Marke B.
Sat/3, 2pm, $17.50–$68
Davies Symphony Hall
401 Van Ness, SF.
www.sfsymphony.org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byZiNaeY6QA
Dark Dark Dark with Emily Wells, Little Teeth
Another great lineup, of swirling, piano-driven Minneapolis Americana (Dark Dark Dark), meeting looping violin prodigy (Emily Wells) meeting snappy local freak-folk (Little Teeth). Headliner Dark Dark Dark – known for effortlessly incorporating European folk, New Orleans jazz, and superlative global influences into its sound – is probably the biggest draw, having just released its third full-length Who Needs Who Oct. 2 on Supply & Demand Music; but the openers are very much worth showing up early for.
Sat/3, 9:30pm, $15
Bottom of the Hill
1233 17th St., SF
www.bottomofthehill.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFdCInn7OtQ
AU
“In my younger and more vulnerable years, certain music videos left definitive scars on my brain. Faith No More’s “Epic” — seemingly an over-the-top ode by Mike Patton to drowning fish and exploding pianos — taught me the meaning of the word in a way that no amount of Greek literature could. Things have largely remained that way until listening to the latest adventurous pop album from Portland’s AU, which opens with another “Epic” — an instrumental soundscape where technical, Hella-tight drumming is joined by impossibly high rising GY!BE guitars as part of a larger Tim-Riggins-winning-the-big-game-triumphant structure. The lexographically challenging track is only the first surprise on the record, and demands a live rendition.” — Ryan Prendiville
With Zammuto
Sat/3, 9pm, $15
Independent
628 Divisadero, SF
www.theindependentsf.com